Basingstoke to Birmingham New St - late 1970s

[overtonchris]

Hi all.

I've just been having a conversation with my 2 sons (in their 20s) who are doubting that the above journey (direct) used to take around 3 hours (I think sometimes more). I remember catching, normally a 47 or a 33 from BSK - change of loco -but same carriage stock!- at Reading (another 47) and then bumbling up to Brum....via Solihull, Dorridge and passing Tysley and Bordesley (I think!).

My sons regularly take this trip by road and rail easily now in 2 hours (ish) - and subsequently think I'm going senile!

Could anyone confirm the around 3 hours was a normal timing for this run? It would save me a couple of pints on a bet!!!!!

 

[eastwestdivide]

One example from the 1978-9 BR timetable, the 1007 from Basingstoke arrived in Birmingham NS at 1240, calling Reading, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington, Coventry, Birmingham Int. (this was the 0835 Poole-Liverpool arrive 1438).
Some services went via Solihull instead of Coventry, e.g. the 1639 Poole-Liverpool.
Other trains were Poole-Leeds/Newcastle (splitting at Sheffield), and a summer Weymouth-Poole-Leeds.
Nothing like an hourly service off the SR though, and gaps in the service north of Reading were filled by Paddington-Birmingham trains, which resulted in a roughly hourly service between Reading-Birmingham.
And yes, 33s did take at least some of the trains between Reading and Poole.

 

[overtonchris]

One example from the 1978-9 BR timetable, the 1007 from Basingstoke arrived in Birmingham NS at 1240, calling Reading, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington, Coventry, Birmingham Int. (this was the 0835 Poole-Liverpool arrive 1438).
Some services went via Solihull instead of Coventry, e.g. the 1639 Poole-Liverpool.
Other trains were Poole-Leeds/Newcastle (splitting at Sheffield), and a summer Weymouth-Poole-Leeds.
Nothing like an hourly service off the SR though, and gaps in the service north of Reading were filled by Paddington-Birmingham trains, which resulted in a roughly hourly service between Reading-Birmingham.
And yes, 33s did take at least some of the trains between Reading and Poole.

Well that's getting close to sparing my blushes (and a couple of pints!)....Thank You.

I still have lodged in my brain (deffo - a southbound train in the early evening) doing the Dorridge, Solihull thing..... and I remember being slightly surprised on the first occasion going via COV to get into Brum northbound... though maybe the dates don't stack up - it was a long time ago!

 

[30907]

In the early 70s there were only 3 through workings daily (and the Padd-Brum services went via Wycombe, so Reading-Bham was pretty dire with only a couple of DMUs to supplement the cross-country ones - but Reading was much less important (plenty of GW services went straight through, unthinkable today).
Once Leamington-Coventry reopened things steadily improved (though journeys were slower), but the single line meant that not all trains could use it while still maintaining connections at New Street.
Of course the road route was pretty dire too - the Oxford Western Bypass was about the best bit whereas now it's the worst!

 

[Helvellyn]

Wasn't Reading West station built to allow some of these inter-regional workings to travel North from Basingstoke to Oxford without having to go into Reading General (which required a locomotive run-round)?